Written ~ 10-02-2024
Read Philippians Chapter Three
Philippians 3
In the first two chapters of Philippians, Paul is thanking and commending the believers in Philippi for their continued growth and their diligence in spreading the Gospel message. He talks to them about conducting themselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ, after all, they are citizens of Heaven! Paul encourages them to continue working together, to have one mind and one purpose and the most important thing, to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus. He gives the reminder not to be selfish, or to complain or argue, but be humble and think of others as better than themselves. Paul reiterated that we all should live clean and innocent lives as children of God, we are to be bright lights because we are reflecting the face of Jesus.
Philippians 3:1…
1 “Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.”
Paul starts this chapter with the words “whatever happens.” If you recall Paul is in chains, imprisoned, under guard twenty-four hours a day. He didn’t know how much longer he was going to be there, or if he was ever going to be released. It is very possible he felt his life could be ended at any time. But he continues in chapter three with “Whatever happens…rejoice in the Lord…” He didn’t want believers to be sorrowful if he died, he wanted them to continue strong in their faith. That’s why in the letters he wrote he gave us as much encouragement, guidance, instruction, and warning as he could. Paul does not want anyone to be uninformed or to be taken advantage of by “those dogs, those people who do evil.”
Philippians 3:2-4…
2 “Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, 4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!”
The Jewish leaders were always placing judgement over the Gentile believers, they wouldn’t consider them as being saved because they would not get circumcised and didn’t follow the letter of the law. Paul is giving us a comparison here of living a life of ritual and tradition to a life living solely for the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Because we are believers, and we worship by the Spirit of God… we are the ones who are truly circumcised. Not through ritual, but our hearts have gone through a radical procedure, a transformation. Our lives have been placed in the hands of Jesus and it is in Him we put our reliance and trust. If we were to constantly rely on what we considered to be good and right, we would fail repeatedly. Human effort and confidence in our human effort won’t get us very far. Now, Paul’s statement in verse 3:4 might seem as though he is boasting about himself, but don’t misunderstand, he is making the point that if anyone wanted to compare human effort with him, he would have been at the very top of the list of achievers. And he explains further in the next couple of verses.
Philippians 3:5-6…
5 “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin – a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.”
When we first meet Paul back in Acts chapter eight, he is persecuting Christians by hauling them off to prison and even sentencing them to death. He was doing this because he felt the believers were doing everything against what he thought to be true. Paul felt it was actually the believers who were being rebellious against God, not the other way around. But… then we have Paul’s conversion in Acts chapter nine… that’s when everything changed for him…
Philippians 3:7-9a…
7 “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9a and become one with Him…”
Think about the verses we just read as a “before Christ” and an “after Christ” realization. Before Christ, Paul thought that everything he was doing was good and that it would bring him to Salvation. Being circumcised, being a member of the Pharisees, following the law with the strictest of obedience, and even when he was persecuting believers, he thought he was following God’s plan. But now, since Paul had his encounter with Jesus (Acts 9) and accepted Him as Lord and Savior over his life, everything he was doing in his life before his conversion he considered as worthless and garbage.
Let’s take time to examine ourselves. What are those things in your life that you cling to, what are those things you find difficult to discard? Maybe you believe that what you are doing is ok, even if it doesn’t fall within the guidelines of God’s Word. Plus, you might even think that because you aren’t hurting anyone when living by the world’s standards, you believe that you can go on living however you want to. What will it take for you to see that by living for the Lord and following the instructions given to us in Scripture is freeing and wonderful? Paul had an encounter with Jesus that absolutely transformed his life, he would never be able to look at things the same way as he did before. I am going ask again, what are those things that you cling to? What needs to happen in your life for you to see that living by the world’s standard is of no worth to you and is considered garbage? When our hearts and minds are drawn to Jesus and we are now focused completely on Him, our attitudes change. Look what Paul says in verse 3:8, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…” This is exactly what can happen to us when we let go of the things this world offers, when we get rid of our rebellious attitudes, and we throw away the rituals and traditions that we think make us “saved.” Knowing Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior has an infinite value, there is no way we can compare anything in this world, no matter how much we want to hold on to it, that measures up to having a personal relationship with Jesus. Paul continues in verse 3:8 by saying, “For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him.”
Philippians 3:9b-11…
9b “…I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!”
Anything we try to do in our own human effort to become righteous before God is going to fall short, it is only by putting our faith in Jesus that we become righteous. By knowing the Lord Jesus Christ personally, by having Him live within us we get to experience the power that raised Him from the dead! And it is through that power that we will be raised and live for eternity with Christ.
Philippians 3:13-16…
12 “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
15 Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.”
You will probably hear me say many times how much I love Paul, I admire him so very much and a lot of times his words ring true to what is on my own heart. I really feel his words, they sink deep down into my heart. I pray that his words will also resonate deeply with you.
I love how Paul speaks from his heart – he wants every believer to press onward, to reach forward… when it comes to Christ Jesus and the Gospel message we must be in agreement. In our Christian Walk, we need to be learning constantly, we need to pursue knowledge in the Word of God. When we look at Paul, we might want to think he’s got it all together, but even he says of himself that he hasn’t achieved everything or reached perfection. No, he says that he presses on. He reaches out to the Lord, just as much as the Lord reaches out to him. Are you pressing forward? Do you long for your walk with the Lord to be stronger than ever before? Digging into Scripture is the way you do that!
Paul realizes he has not achieved perfection, if he thought he had, he would no longer pursue the Lord. So, that’s why it is so important, as believers, to be in our Bibles every day. Especially when we are too tired, too busy, too stressed, too angry, too hurt, too depressed, in too much pain. It is at those times we need to be in our Bibles even more.
Paul makes a point in these verses that we are not to look to our past, we are to carry on, push forward and hold on to the progress we have made in our walks with the Lord. Don’t look back!
Philippians 3:17-21…
17 “Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. 18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same power with which He will bring everything under His control.”
Here we have Paul, with tears in his eyes telling believers to pattern their lives after his, to honor the Lord, serve the Lord, to share the gospel message, and to shine Christ’s light brightly for all to see. It is important for us to align ourselves with other believers, to follow their examples of Christ’s love and humility. Paul gives us a warning in verse 3:18, “…there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.” There are those who have infiltrated the church, causing others to fall because they really aren’t believers, they’re just pretending to love Jesus, and they can lead astray those who are not careful and not following the godly example Paul and the other believers are sharing.
Think about your own life. Who do you have in your life that you can pattern your life after? Is it someone like Paul who reminds you to live your life for the Lord? Is it someone who wants desperately to teach you the truths from the Word of God? Is it someone who shows encouragement when you stumble, and helps you put your focus back on the Lord? I really hope you do. Because if you don’t have that kind of influence in your life, you may be tricked by those who do not have good intentions.
Let’s look at who the “…enemies of the cross of Christ…” are and how easily it should be to spot them and not allow yourself to get drawn in by their example.
Look at how the Message Version (MSG) and the Amplified Version (AMP) translate verses 3:18-19…
The Message Version:
“There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them.
I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again.
All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.”
The Amplified Version:
“For there are many, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, who live as enemies of the cross of Christ [rejecting and opposing His way of salvation], whose fate is destruction, whose god is their belly [their worldly appetite, their sensuality, their vanity], and whose glory is in their shame – who focus their mind on earthly and temporal things.”
Who are your examples, whose lives have you patterned your life after? Have you gotten drawn in by the world’s appetite? Has the allure of the world’s sensuality and vanity pulled you in? Has the focus of your mind been turned “…to earthly and temporal things?”
Paul is cautioning us to keep our focus steady. We are not to be swayed or have our hearts and minds turned to the things of this world which are carnal, fleshly and material. No, as believers our focus is Heaven! Our true home! In verse 3:20, Paul says, “…we are citizens of Heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior.” What if we go along each day, not really thinking too much about what we get to look forward to? The troubles of this world have engulfed our enthusiasm, and we find it difficult to look past our circumstances. That’s why it is so important to have a mentor, someone you look to for guidance and who you know will get you back on the right path and encourage you to get your focus back to the things of Heaven and into the Word of God.
If you don’t have someone in your life that you can pattern your life after, seek out that person, learn from them, ask for guidance, and help when the world’s voice gets really loud. Remember we have wonderful things to look forward to in Heaven, but in the meantime, let’s keep our hearts and minds focused on serving the Lord in all we do.
~AMEN~